Lifelong Learning Lecture Series

This free lecture series is a partnership between Framingham State University (FSU) and Framingham Public Library (FPL). The series is sponsored by a grant from The Joseph L. and Ray L. Freund Foundation, courtesy of Elizabeth F. Fideler.

All lectures take place on Zoom. To receive the Zoom link, please join our Lifelong Learning Lectures mailing list at bit.ly/Lifelong-Learning-Lectures.

Recordings of these events are not always available, based on copyright constraints and other factors. To avoid missing these great talks, please join us live on Zoom! Whether or not a program is recorded may not be announced before the event. If a recording is available, it will be posted to youtube.com/FraminghamPublicLibrary no later than one week after the event takes place.

Lecture Descriptions

What Was Wrong with the Articles of Confederation?

Dr. Joseph M. Adelman, Professor of History, Framingham State University
September 10, 7PM | Zoom

During the Revolutionary War, Americans drafted over a dozen constitutions: at least one for each state plus the Articles of Confederation, which bound the states together in a “perpetual Union.” The Articles were controversial from the beginning. Originally drafted in 1776, Congress took over a year to approve a final version to send to the states, and only on March 1, 1781 did the thirteenth state agree to them. Within five years after that, some Americans believed the Articles to be fatally flawed and pushed for fundamental revisions to the document. By 1789, the United States was inaugurating government under the Constitution, brushing aside the Articles.

In this talk, we examine the Articles—both their merits and their flaws—and discuss why some Americans wanted to replace them so quickly with a more robust national government.

Fashion and Philosophy

Ruirui Zhang, Framingham State University Dept of Fashion Design and Retailing and Joseph D’Andrea, Framingham State University Dept of Psychology and Philosophy
September 24, 7M | Zoom

Join us in this philosophical investigation of fashion. More than simply periodic changes in cut and color, fashion here is presented as the occasion to explore the symbolic, materialistic, communal, and ethical dimensions of human existence.

Quilts of Gees Bend: An American Legacy

Pamela Sebor-Cable, Associate Professor, Emerita, Fashion Design and Retailing, Framingham State University
October 8, 7PM | Zoom

Once created out of necessity, quilts produced by the women of Gees Bend are now recognized as a unique form of American art. From their origins on the plantations of the American South to international recognition in today’s museums, the quilts of Gees Bend provide a rich story of how the creative spirit of this talented group of artists has endured and become a part of American art and culture.

The 2026 Midterm Elections: What Happened (and Why)?

Dr. David Smailes, Former Associate Professor of Political Science, Law and Global Studies, Framingham State University
November 5, 7PM | Zoom

Join us as we examine the results of the 2026 midterm elections by looking at what happened and how we might put the elections in historical perspective. We discuss what the results tell us about the state of the two major political parties, the ongoing role of money in politics, the effect of redistricting efforts, and what the elections might mean for the presidential election in 2028.

Place in Literature

Dr. Helen Heineman, President Emerita, Framingham State University
November 19, 7 PM |  Zoom

This lecture introduces several major writers of the Romantic period in the landscapes where they wrote and lived: William Wordsworth, the Brontës, and Jane Austen.
By the middle of the 18th century, the study of landscape became an object of interest, and then a passion. The capacity of the careful contemplation of nature to educate the mind made a connection between literature and place.

It was the mountainous Lake District that influenced Wordsworth; the rugged moors of Haworth that provided the Brontës with inspiration; and the social landscapes of Bath and its environs that grounded Jane Austen’s novels. This lecture covers three different landscapes, providing inspiration to some of the most famous authors in literature.